Malaysians vote amid fly-in voter claims

A close win for the Malaysian government could spell the end of the careers of two of the country’s highest profile politicians, with Prime Minister Najib Razak facing opposition within his party.
Photo: AP

Malaysia goes to its closest election in half a century on Sunday amid allegations the long-serving government is transporting people around the country to boost its vote in seats crucial to it clinging to power.

The government appeared to confirm that voter movement was occurring, with Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary general
Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor
saying that “friends of BN" were paying for registered voters to return to their hometowns to vote.

Mr Anwar’s Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition says electoral malpractice is all that stands between it and the first change of government in Malaysia since the country gained independence in 1957 when the forerunner of the multi-ethnic party BN gained a stranglehold on power.

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Malaysians are voting for 222 single member seats in the national Parliament and for state parliaments across the country where various opposition parties already control five of the 14 governments. The government holds 137 seats nationally after winning 51.4 per cent of the vote in 2008, which was its lowest level ever.

Opinion polls show a clear readiness for change but are mixed on the actual support for the opposition, many analysts saying the two largest states by seats – Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo – are not joining the general drift to the opposition in the mainland.

Analysts say ethnic Chinese voters have switched strongly to the opposition, while ethnic Indian voters are more evenly divided, which means the election has come down to a battle for the Malay voters who constitute about 55 per cent of the electorate.

But Institute for Southeast Asian Studies deputy director Ooi Kee Beng said: “After 2008 all the normal voting patterns are gone. We need to look for totally new trends in this election."

A close win for the government could spell the end of the careers of two of the country’s highest profile politicians, with Prime Minister
Najib Razak
facing opposition within his party despite having higher personal opinion poll support than the government.

Mr Anwar, who was a government insider as deputy prime minister in the 1990s and then spent years in jail after questionable corruption and sex offence allegations, has said he will retire if he loses this bid for power.

An opposition victory could return Mr Anwar to his old stature as a regional political and Islamic leader.

This week Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts warned about complacency in the Malaysian stock and currency markets about the government winning the election.